KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 22): UEM Sunrise Bhd (KL:UEMS) said its net profit for the second quarter declined 23.71% amid higher operating expenses and lower share of net results from joint ventures (JVs) and associates.

The net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) was RM18.84 million or 0.38 sen per share, compared to RM24.7 million or 0.49 sen per share a year earlier, according to the property developer’s filing with the stock exchange.

Revenue fell 43.61% to RM205.22 million, from RM363.96 million previously when sales of non-strategic land in Tapah, Perak and Iskandar Puteri, Johor had significantly contributed to the group’s revenue.

No dividend was declared for the quarter.

UEM Sunrise said its operating profit for the quarter fell 19% year-on-year to RM56.86 million from RM69.93 million due to lower gross profit and higher operating expenses, but this was offset by higher other income which more than doubled to RM46.87 million from RM15.09 million.

The share of net results from JVs and associates dropped 55% to RM8.65 million from RM19.29 million.

For the first half (1H) of FY2024, UEM Sunrise’s net profit dropped 32.54% year-on-year to RM27.02 million from RM40.05 million amid reduced cost savings and higher operating expenses, resulting from increased headcount and higher selling and distribution expenses to boost sales for ongoing projects such as The MINH, The Connaught One, and Residensi ZIG in the Central Region.

Half-year revenue fell 28.86% to RM430.18 million from RM604.73 million, primarily due to a 34.5% decline in contributions from local property development projects. This decrease was largely attributed to the advanced stages of projects such as Residensi Astrea in Mont'Kiara and Serene Heights in Semenyih, Selangor.

Total sales performance in 1H shrank 68% to RM438 million from RM1.38 billion previously, primarily due to the absence of sales from the Collingwood project in the International Region, which had contributed RM874 million to the group's total sales in the same period the previous year.

Looking ahead, UEM Sunrise chief executive officer Sufian Abdullah said in a statement: “We are confident in our ability to continue delivering value to our stakeholders while reinforcing our position as a market leader in the sector.”

Shares of UEM Sunrise closed down half a sen or 0.50% at 99.5 sen on Thursday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM5.03 billion.